Galatea: REMIX
by Sage of Angst
Summary: Satoshi hardened his glare and clenched his fists into little balls at his sides, “I’d hate you just as much for that as I would for being hurt by you! I’d hate you like before!” [Krad x Satoshi, Dark x Daisuke onesided]
1. Track 01: Welcome to Eternity

_Author's Note_: After facing the reality that I probably won't be able to finish this in its entirety any time soon due to graduating college and moving to Japan, I've decided to accommodate those readers who've stuck around so long waiting patiently for this sequel and post what I've got (which admittedly is a substantial amount of writing). I'm going to be doing it in "chronological" order, which will give it some semblance of an actual complete fic, but will not actually BE complete. It will be, more or less, a smattering of scenes thrown together, with little or no segues from one to another, plus explanations from myself on the occasion that it's not obvious what's going on or why. This is also not to say that I will not, on some rainy day when I tire of using pidgin English to make my way around Tokyo, write more than what I have, or flesh out some scene further, this is simply an admission that I cannot PROMISE that.

So anyways, without further ado, on with the story

* * *

_PROLOGUE _

Somewhere, sometime, there was a boy named Hiwatari Satoshi. He led a sad life, and he succumbed to a sad death. He was happy, once, but mostly he was sad.

He was loved by few, and loved even fewer. But when he did, he did it with his whole being. Perhaps that is why it broke him so. No one dies of a broken heart, after all, but broken bodies are another matter entirely.

And so when he died, perhaps some god somewhere took pity on him. How ironic, that one who was never alone in life should be doomed so in death, they may have thought.

Perhaps they took pity, and gave him dreams. What love he could not embrace in life, he could do so now, far from the waking world, in what might pass for some Elysian Fields of the ancients…

* * *

**_Galatea: Remix_**  
_Track 01 – Welcome to Eternity _

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start  
from now and make a brand new ending."

_Carl Bard_

"Remember tonight... for it is the beginning of always."

_Author Unknown_

* * *

"…You're projecting, right?"

"…I thought _you_ were—wait, when did you turn into me?"

"I _didn't_! I've been me all this time!"

"Wha—then how are you projecting?"

"I'm _not_, I'm trying to tell you—_you're_ the one projecting! Look, if you weren't projecting, then I could touch—"

"…"

"…_MOOOOOOOM_!"

* * *

Niwa Emiko had certainly seen a lot in her life. She'd heard tales of the great phantom thief Dark and his escapades since she was a little girl, had _seen_ those escapades with her own two eyes, had watched Dark scale buildings in a borrowed body, flit through the night sky on raven wings, had bewitched and enchanted as best she knew how to help her child through the greatest challenges of his life.

And yet all that she'd been through as a matriarch in the Niwa family couldn't prepare her for the most recent occurrence, as her only son darted down the steps in a frenzy, followed by the boy's own curse.

The observation that Dark was remarkably composed for a supernatural being was her only thought before the seriousness of the situation suddenly hit home, and she slipped smoothly into mommy-mode.

"All right, now wait—wait one moment here…" She held out her hands to silence the throng that had gathered in her dining room, drawing all attentions to her. Kosuke and Daiki were solemn, sitting silently towards the back of the room. Towa was all aflutter over Dark, though, patting him down and checking him for injury, with Daisuke continually trying to bat her away and ensuring the woman that they were both fine. "Daisuke," she snapped authoritatively, and the redhead immediately calmed, attention fixed on his mother. "Just…tell me again…exactly what happened."

"I've told you three times already! I went to bed last night, perfectly normal—" Dark snickered, then quieted at a glare from Emiko, "—and when I woke up this morning, Dark was in bed with me. We were together last night, and now we're separate."

"I've already tried everything I know on him, honey," Kosuke reasoned, "But…there's just nothing. All the magic's gone—even from the artworks in the basement."

Emiko massaged her temples, sinking into a chair at the head of the table, "And we…have no idea how this happened?" All she was returned were averted eyes or outright head shakes. "Towa, what about you?"

"Mmm, it's hard to say, Madam…I don't really…_feel_ different, but I know I am—I suppose I've been out of contact with my magic for so long, I didn't really notice when I had none left…"

"But you don't have, I don't know, _some_ idea of why this might have happened?"

"No, ma'am…" Towa mumbled, "It's as if…" She paused, brows crinkling. "Madam, the artworks, too, you said?"

Emiko nodded, and at Towa's quick glance to Dark, the thief finally caught on. "If the Hikari works are powerless now…"

"—Then maybe Hiwatari-kun had something to do with it!" Daisuke finished, pushing his chair back. "Dark—come on! We'll head over to his apartment right now!"

"Wait, Daisuke!" Emiko called, frustrated, but her son was already down the hall with Dark trailing close behind. "…This just doesn't seem right…"

* * *

"Okay, so I get that we need to go see Hiwatari-kun, but…I really don't know _what_ he could have done to make this happen…"

"Neither do I—but your mother's right. I don't have a good feeling about this." Dark ducked his head discreetly, sliding as far into the corner of the far-from-crowded train car as he could. The clothes he'd borrowed from Kosuke did something to help his appearance, but years of dodging the police had the thief more than a little wary about being out in broad daylight. Wrinkling his nose, uncomfortable in the sunglasses he'd snatched on his way out, he frowned. "Course there's not a lot I could be happy about that involves that guy's family."

"You don't—" Daisuke waxed worried, "You don't…think something happened to him, do you?"

Dark paused, giving the suggestion some thought, and when a small smile crept on his face, Daisuke punched him sharply on the arm. "Wha—hey, quit it, I'm kidding. And no, I don't think anything happened to him. I mean, I'm still here, aren't I? If a host kicks the bucket, both curses go away. One doesn't get his own body…"

"Still…" Daisuke hemmed, standing as the car pulled to a stop at the station nearest Satoshi's apartment, "…I _am_ worried."

"Then I guess that means you're not as stupid as you come off."

* * *

An unlikely pair if any onlooker paused to give them a once-over, Satoshi and Krad wandered along with seemingly no purpose or ultimate goal for some time—though it seemed none passed. The sun was by now high in the sky, and a light breeze flushed through the streets keeping all the pedestrians comfortable on what would otherwise be an absurdly warm spring day. Others bustled past them in a hurry as they ambled along the sidewalk, with a park bordering them on the left and a downtown street—quiet, save for the occasional salaryman off to a business meeting in a taxi—on their right. Satoshi was the one who took the initiative to slow down dragging Krad over to an alcove in the park away from prying eyes, and suggesting that they sit.

"I think…we need to talk…"

Krad nodded down at him, and complied easily, sliding down beside the boy onto the stone bench, finding it cold beneath the thin material of the pants he was clad in. His robe had fallen away—lost, or faded into so much astral dust—and while he still stuck out among the Azumano residents, as he always would with his foreign features, he at least didn't look like some runaway from a cosplay convention.

Satoshi scooted back onto the bench beside the blond, leaning forward slightly as he rested his palms on the edge of the seat between his legs, adopting a posture that likened him to a child waiting impatiently for a friend on a park date.

To his side, Krad—well accustomed to adopting an elegant stance—now abandoned it to relax into a more casual pose, leaning forward to distribute his weight down his arms which rested on his knees, hunched forward and staring at the ground in his immediate line of vision.

"…_Why_…did you…try to Seal yourself?" Krad didn't immediately respond, and the boy turned confused blue eyes onto him and pursued his questioning with a more desperate tone than he'd meant to use, "You said you'd do anything I asked—and I asked you to stay with me!"

He had known this would be the first thing Satoshi would ask him, yet this didn't make it a question that was any easier to answer. There was so much that had to be gathered from their time together that couldn't be easily shaped into human words—feelings, emotions that were more easily expressed with thought and will than with the tongue.

"I didn't want…to hurt you anymore…" Though Satoshi said nothing in reply to this, Krad knew this would not be accepted as a good enough answer, and reluctantly elaborated.

"Every moment I spent with you…was spent with the goal of earning some form of requited sentiment from you—tolerance, friendship, and a far-off faint hope of…of love…There was never a second that I looked at you that I did not pursue this objective…And yet I tried so hard without truly understanding why. Was it because you were my Tamer, my host? Because you were the last Hikari? Or because…you were my Satoshi-sama…?

"I don't even know when I stopped trying to gain your affection…when I stopped even caring about myself, how you felt about me, and I simply settled for…for loving you on my own, without hope for recompense. But whenever that happened, I realized…that if I ever succeeded in my forgotten goal…should you ever feel _anything_ for me…how selfish it would have been!

"For me, to ask you to deign to notice me, to care for me in any way—how _selfish_! We could not even touch let alone hold one another… I could have borne it, but I would die before I subjected you to that. So I made a decision on my own to cut off my consciousness from yours before I delved any deeper—intentionally or not. Sealing is a host/curse pact—not something that can be attempted without consent of both parties…so I threw together the excuse about the Wing Master to make you hate me again…like before—to grant me permission to carry out the task, so that…I couldn't hurt the one I loved so much anymore…" He raised his palms up and cradled his head in them, massaging his temples in weary thought.

There was utter silence between them when Krad's voice fell away—no birds singing here, or cars cruising by, not even a faint whistling of the wind through the trees, and Satoshi shifted a bit uncomfortably beside him, before whispering, "…You failed…because you didn't do it in time…"

He pushed himself up off the bench and turned to face Krad fully, who had stopped rubbing his temples to stare curiously at the Hikari child. The blond let his hands drop back down to his lap and searched the pale face for a clue to his intentions, but none came, until he saw him raise a single palm and lay it on his cheek, cool flesh against cool flesh.

It might have been interpreted as some romantic gesture had the boy been wearing a more content expression on his face, rather than one of mixed curiosity and worry. Krad didn't dare move, instead opting to let the fingers roam down his high cheekbones, tracing over his jaw, before being joined by another set of fingers which explored his forehead, as if memorizing every square inch of his skin, committing it to memory.

Golden eyes closed slowly, surrendering to the darkness and letting the fingers continue over his flesh undeterred. They skittered like spiders down his temples, drawing goosebumps and banishing the tension that had accumulated, then after running parallel down his cheeks again, they met on his mouth, running lightly over his lips, and then fell away.

Only to be replaced by Satoshi's own lips.

As if he'd been jolted by an electric current at the contact, Krad's eyes automatically snapped open, almost desperate to prove the validity (or invalidity) of the brash action that would have been unthinkable of his Satoshi-sama before this. Instead he found that they were, in fact, joined at the lips, with that pale face barely an inch from his own, blue eyes fluttering closed—which prompted the blond to slide his shut again as well.

It was obvious, a moment into the kiss, that the boy hadn't probably planned it—because he didn't seem to know what to do next, so Krad had to resort to yielding ground and leading him through the "basics", deepening the contact only slightly before pulling back, implying that Satoshi should try the same—which he did without fail. It was a give-and-take experience between them for another few moments before Krad took the initiative to release his host, sensing that the boy who was still a child in so many aspects couldn't help himself.

Their foreheads came to rest against each other, and they took a moment to calm their now racing hearts, before Satoshi spoke, "I think…I've wanted…to do that for a while…" Somewhere in the exchange, his arms had loosely draped themselves over the blond's shoulders, entangling them in his still-let-down hair, and he idly ran his fingers through the locks as he contemplated his next statement.

"…Really now?" Krad stopped his train of thought, sending it on a new course, "And why is that?"

Satoshi untwined his fingers and pulled back, "I…wondered…what it would be like…if—if it would be cold, sharp, burning…like being a Hikari, like kissing ice…or…or warm, soft, enjoyable, like kissing…Niwa…"

Krad's eyes noticeably widened, and the expected objection came out in a flood of words, "But—you never—you never kissed the Wing Master! You—"

"I know, I know…" He waved a hand weakly at his stammering counterpart, smiling feebly as he stared at the ground. "But it…I always imagined it would feel…like that. Just being around him was warm and enjoyable, so being _with_ him could…only feel that much better…"

Relaxing with the assurance, Krad backed down, voicing his next comment in a more reasonable tone, genuinely curious, "So…which was it?" Satoshi looked up, confused, and Krad couldn't help his usual teasingly seductive tone that crept back into his questioning, "Was it like ice…or like your Niwa?"

Deferring an immediate response, the boy slid back down into his seat beside Krad, leaning to the side so that some of his weight was pressed against the blond, head resting wearily on his shoulder.

"It was…neither…" He raised a tentative hand to touch his own lips, as if testing them for some trace element left behind which might help him describe it, "Not Hikari…not Niwa…but…not bad…I think I felt…_right_…kissing you…" He paused again, and the hand fell away. "It wasn't a need, like with Niwa… I _needed_ his warmth, _needed_ him… It was more…I just _wanted_ to…no pressure, just felt right…just…"

His words died away, and he suddenly felt very tired—falling asleep here on this bench leaning into Krad didn't seem like that bad an idea at the moment. As if still connected to him mentally, the blond turned an eye down to the body leaning against him and lifted an arm to make him more comfortable—hesitating only a moment before asking, "If I…put my arm around you…would you push me away?"

He couldn't see the boy's face, but felt him shake his head and reply softly, "No…" And so he did, reaching around to draw the slender frame closer, with Satoshi unconsciously (or perhaps not unconsciously) burrowing in further, one hand clutching the front fabric of Krad's shirt, the other the back.

After a few moments passed, Krad was almost certain that the form huddled against him was asleep, until it spoke up, voice slightly firmer, not so sleep-laden as he would have expected it to be.

"Ne…If I…told you that…I loved you…would you forgive me?"

Krad stiffened and turned his upper body slightly to look down at Satoshi, but the boy clung on even more fiercely and refused to look up, as if frightened that the blond was pulling away in repulsion. He immediately relaxed and soothed the tension, bringing one hand over to run the long fingers through the thin pale-blue hair, smiling wryly. "Forgive you for what, Satoshi-sama?"

"Don't call me that anymore…" the voice returned, slightly annoyed, "I don't…I don't like it when you elevate me like that…"

Blinking a few times and hesitating while he weighed whether or not he could permit himself to do such a thing, Krad eventually conceded, "As you wish…Satoshi…"

The Hikari boy's body relaxed slightly, and he could have sworn he felt a tremor echo into his very bones, but Satoshi finally continued his confession, "I said…horrible things to you…so many times…"

"I deserved them—" Krad interrupted, only to have himself interrupted.

"That's what I told myself," Satoshi continued firmly, tightening his grip on the fabric, "That I hated you, that your pain was nothing, that you'd earned everything…and for a while it worked, because I _needed_ something to hate…and you were always there with me, always endured me…put up with me…And you never fought back—so it frustrated me! I could—I could fight Dark, throw a punch, and he'd punch back. Yell at Niwa and he'd get mad at me for taking my own problems out on him. But I could never get rid of you—even when I wanted to…even when I didn't…or at least I thought so…

"You lied to me again…told me you'd just been pretending to get close to me all this time, trying to make me kill Niwa…and I was so _mad_…you don't even understand how hurt I was!" He looked up now, a sheen of tears making his eyes appear even more like bottomless pools of water, "Because—because the last person I had who hadn't used me or betrayed me in some way…the last one who'd always been with me, comforting me, helping me even when I didn't want help…And all I wanted was for you to leave me alone…forever…

"But…how much it hurt to be betrayed…by you…couldn't compare to what it felt like…when I thought I was going to be alone again…knowing that the first cut was fake. That none of the time we spent together was a ploy to use me to carry out family duty, that you were just as I'd hoped you were…that…we would always be together…And I realized how much worse it would have been if you'd really disappeared…

"So I'm…sorry…for hurting you…and for asking you this…but—please don't leave! I—I want…it to stay like it was…I want you to be with me always! It hurts me too much to let you go…even though it will hurt you just as much to stay…but…" He pulled himself closer, curling into a ball, "_Please_…"

Krad regarded the boy silently for a moment, then slowly untwined their bodies and pulled away, earning a panicky look from his Tamer. Standing before Satoshi, he stared down, a pitiable expression painted on his features.

"I'm sorry…Satoshi…but…I cannot stay in your mind any longer…"

Head shaking back and forth in disbelief, Satoshi reached his hands out feebly, voice cracking, "N—no! No! I don't—_why_?! Why can't you—?!"

"Because—because, Satoshi…" He leaned forward and closed his golden eyes, a content smile rising to his lips as he pressed them against the boy's forehead, "Because…I do believe that I have been granted a body of my own."

* * *

"You…what?" His eyes could not widen enough at the revelation. "Wh—but—_how_?!"

Krad smiled down at the boy, pulling back and sinking down until the two were at eye level, taking one of the now-shaking hands in his own to act as a source of reassurance. He diverted his gaze for only a moment, admitting, "I don't…really know…truthfully I should be in whatever limbo accompanies my sealing, as I am whenever my host dies or when my use has faded—the ritual was perfect…"

He flicked his eyes back to Satoshi's attentive face, catching a bit of sun in the golden glint, "But not that any of that matters…When I awoke in the chamber, I was perfectly aware of my physical self—which meant you should have been in my mind then, but you weren't." He raised one hand and cupped a cheek in it, "The only conclusion I can draw is that by some grand stroke of luck I miscarried out the ritual—whatever energy should have been used to seal me inside Koku Yoku was instead diverted into fashioning a physical body of my own." He sighed low and cracked a grateful smile, "But, however it happened…who am I to question it?"

Satoshi drank in every detail Krad revealed with a kind of awe that was rarely seen on his features, bright eyed and excited, ecstatic beyond measure. When the blond finished and pushed himself back up to stand erect, the boy burst forth, "Then—you're…you're really staying?" A curt nod. "You'll stay with me—really?"

Krad had to suppress a light laugh—the boy seemed to almost be regressing from his normally cool, calm state into one of childish excitement, and it suited him quite well. On second thought, when he gave it further attention, Satoshi's normal emotional state was actually _ab_normal for a fourteen-year-old boy—not that he'd ever cared in the slightest, mind you. It seemed for the first time in his life the Hikari child was finally _enjoying_ himself, glad to be alive, glad to be…with Krad.

Reverting back to his own usual teasing, the blond adopted a posture reflecting deep thought, "Actually I'd thought I'd go and see if the Wing Master would have me…I haven't had a simple proper chat with Dark in _so_ long, you kn—"

_WHAP _

He blinked once, twice, three times before he properly registered what had happened—and by this time Satoshi, who had risen from his seat, had pulled back, looking abashed at the playful smack. Krad looked down at his shoulder—which didn't hurt at all really, it was a light punch meant to bring the blond back to his senses after his joke—but, well, he'd never been touched by anyone but Dark before, and _those_ times were anything _but_ enjoyable.

"Ah—I…sorry, I just…" Satoshi was under the impression that he'd gone too far, mentally chiding himself for the action, "I didn't mean—"

"No—no!" Krad rushed to alleviate any fears that he'd been offended that might have risen inside his precious former-host's mind, "I only…was surprised…" An embarrassed smile managed to break across his features, "I suppose I shall have to get accustomed to being able to touch you."

Relief spreading over his face, Satoshi relaxed into a smile again as well, lunging forward, "As long as you want…take as long as you want…and…" The relieved smile twisted into an almost devious grin, "I'm glad to finally be able to exact some form of payback for whenever you bother me!"

"A _bother_ am I?" Krad repeated, face twisting into one of mock horror, and he elicited the desired laugh he'd been aiming to draw from the boy as the two turned and began walking up the sidewalk again, bound for the empty apartment—which was about to welcome a new occupant.

The two continued to chat animatedly (well, mostly animated on Krad's part, where Satoshi was content to listen attentively and drink in every moment they were together) as the city skyline rose into view once they topped a hill.

"N—Niwa?!" the Hikari boy breathed, shocked, drawing Krad's attentions to follow his gaze to the foot of the hill they'd just crested, where a familiar pair were waving wildly at them. Well, Daisuke at least was waving for their attention—Dark seemed to be waving his hand for an altogether different reason, and Krad rolled his eyes at the display. Really, _kaitous_.


	2. Track 02: Truce and Consequences

_Author's Note:_ If you're just tuning in, this remix will consist of broken scenes strung together chronologically with little segues between, them—so my apologies in advance. I will at least be describing the new scene changes, however, so as to cause minimal confusion. Thanks!

* * *

**_Galatea: Remix  
_**_Track 02 – Truce and Consequences _

"Treaties are like roses and young girls – they last while they last."

_Charles De Gaulle_

* * *

_  
The scene is now back at Satoshi's apartment, where the group have returned to better be able to discuss the current goings-on. Satoshi and Daisuke have decided to leave the apartment for both their own privacy as well as to give Dark and Krad time to settle their own differences—civilly, if that can be at all expected of the two. Of course it can't.  
_

* * *

"…I can't believe you _actually_ did it." Dark was the first to break their mutual silence, as usual, jerking Krad back to reality from his jealous visions of Satoshi flouncing out the door, hand-in-hand with the Niwa boy, never to return. If he hadn't sworn never to hurt Satoshi again, he'd—"Sealing's not something you try every day…and you beat it…" Oh, right, Dark was still here, stinking the place up with his kaitou stench, tracking dirt into Satoshi's home and lounging about on that couch like he owned the place. "You…are one _lucky_ bastard." 

Krad's gaze jerked over to Dark's at this presumptuous statement, "_Lucky_?" he choked out, and the smile that had started to form on the thief's face slowly faded in confusion. Clenching his fists, the blond asked mostly of himself, "_This_…is _lucky_?"

Narrowing his gaze, no longer playing amused by their situation, Dark countered with no small amount of bitterness, "Wouldn't you call being pulled back from the brink of annihilation to spend the rest of your now-mortal-and-thus-numbered years with the creepy boy of your dreams 'lucky'?"

Shaking his head slowly, lip curling in disgust, Krad simply spat, "Your staggering ignorance and irritating naïveté never cease to astound me. _Bravo_." Dark looked pained, but the blond continued in mocking tones, "'_You're a disease upon your Tamer_!' or '_Daisuke and I wish for coexistence_' as you so eloquently proclaimed—did I not _clearly_ state so before? That no matter _what_ we who are without a true vessel wish for, no matter _what_ we might so fervently desire—nothing, not one of them will come true! This—" He waved a hand around, encompassing the room in the gesture, "All of _this_…it's not meant to be… That was the entire point of my attempting the Seal!"

"…I really think you knocked a few more screws loose during that spell, Krad, 'cause you're not making a damn bit of sense—"

"Would you shut your babbling mouth for but a moment and let me _speak_, thief? I might answer your question then." Dark's mouth snapped back closed, and he had the grace to look abashed, still unsure of why he was letting Krad order him around so freely. It wasn't because he was curious. It wasn't. Really. "Your Tamer was right, is that what you've been wanting to hear? That I heeded his words, saw through his logic and made it my own? That I was bested by a _Niwa_?

"Shall I fall to my knees and worship that clan as my own now? Would you then stop pestering me with your inane observations of something you understand absolutely nothing about?" He took a breath and composed himself, "I didn't want this body; I didn't try that spell with the far-off hope that something might go wrong and I'd wind up this way. I had carefully laid out plans—plans that involved me gone and Satoshi-sama able to live on, unburdened by my presence…able to love others without my constantly peering over his shoulder and offering judgment."

"…Well it didn't work. So _deal with it_, enjoy your new life," Dark suggested morosely, "You can't always have your way, you know."

"Were you created this stupid, or is it something you've perfected over the generations?" Krad spat, "It's not about what _I_ want! It's about what's best—not for me, for _him_! Gods—I should think even you might understand! Always babbling on about coexisting with that boy, being with him forever or some other such high-minded rubbish; and _I'm_ the disease? Humans were not made to carry us…and they shouldn't have to."

"You seemed awfully chummy with that kid earlier though," Dark retorted knowingly, features smug, and he crossed his arms, "Didn't seem much like you were trying that hard to let him go off and live his own life."

"I was—" Krad began hotly, then paused, collected his thoughts, and continued, "…That was simply…heat of the moment. I was so caught up with—with being here, alive, able to feel and touch—"

"And you _liked_ it."

"That's not the point! It makes no difference if I liked it or n—"

"But you did. You _did_ like it. You liked being with that kid." Dark leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows as they balanced on his knees, "Did you ever consider that maybe _he_ liked it too, and maybe that's all he really cares about? That maybe he doesn't _want_ his own life anymore?"

"He's a child," Krad retorted bitterly, "He has no idea what's best for him, and so it is my duty to clamp down on my own desires and take up my cross for the greater good."

"Because you're just that kind of guy, right?" Dark rolled his eyes in disgust. "You…are really messed up. I mean—seriously. _Gods_—let the kid make his own choices! I don't get why the hell everyone feels like they have to stick their noses into Hiwatari's business, Daisuke included! You've made his life a living hell long enough by having your way with him, give him some rein!"

"Now that reminds me…why _did_ you refrain from aiding the Wingmaster in actively breaking up my relationship with Satoshi-sama?"

Dark narrowed his gaze, "…That's changing the subject."

"I'm allowed to do it. Now speak, since you seem to enjoy that. _Why_?"

Dark looked quite uncomfortable, fidgeting nervously, "I just…just…wanted to see is all. Not like you have much to complain about there."

"And what, pray tell, might you have been so curious about?" Krad suppressed a sly smile at riling the thief up so, "It certainly couldn't have been due to some burgeoning feelings for one infuriatingly meddlesome red—"

"Just _if_—" Dark interrupted again quickly, "—if it could…really work, you know. A curse…and a host."

Krad took a moment to pause and study his rival—there was something different about him; he seemed…less cocky, less arrogant, less quick to start a fight…less Dark, and more human. He wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing. "Well…when I have an answer…you'll be the first to know." It was an almost civil reply, and it tasted bitter.

With that matter seemingly closed, the thief took the opportunity to tack back onto their previous conversational direction. "I'll be waiting with bated breath. Though that begs the question of, '_Can you deliver?_'" At Krad's confused expression, he added, "Your not being here would seem to put a damper on furthering any relationship with that Hiwatari, and then I'd never find out."

"I thought you weren't going to meddle in our relationship," Krad drawled wearily, growing tired of the discussion.

"Now, see, I used to know this guy—we went way back, you know—by the name of Krad. Part of this huge, rich, stuck-up family, kinda what you might call a 'psychotic bastard,' but his heart was in the right place. In that it didn't exist. And he had this thing for his Tamer—it was really creepy, but whatever, to each his own." Krad rolled his eyes and looked away, but Dark continued. "This Krad guy I knew wouldn't have turned tail and run from a situation like this without a fight, not after pulling out all the stops to make this Tamer of his pull a complete one-eighty with regard to how he thought of Krad."

"I'm not fleeing," the blond ground out viciously, "It was for his own good! He doesn't need m—"

"Hey…you're _scared_…" Dark breathed, a grin breaking out on his face at having finally one-upped his rival, and he couldn't suppress a light laugh, "You—you're _scared_ is what it is!"

"I beg your pardon?!" Krad looked positively affronted, and more than a little angry, face reddening.

"This isn't some noble deed or whatever you're trying to paint it as—you're scared of that kid. Well, not of _him_, but…of what he'll think of you. You don't think he doesn't need you, but that he won't want you—well, I wouldn't blame him, really. You were, after all, quite the bastard to him. Possessive, never let him get close to anyone, soaked up his energy reserves to fight me, not to mention the headaches the poor kid must've put up with—"

"I _know_!" the blond exploded, "I don't need a Niwa lecturing me, I _know_ how much he had to go through because of me! So why on earth should I stay here and make him go through more of that?!"

"Love makes you do funny things."

"He doesn't love me."

"He might; he could, if you let him."

"He shouldn't."

"This generation's Tamers don't seem ones for following the rules and paying attention to what they should or shouldn't do, though." Dark changed tacks here, "…You've always wanted a body of your own, a life of your own, unbound…and you've finally got one. What will you do with it, Krad? Squander it?"

Krad closed his eyes, weary. "…And you, you never wanted one of your own. What about you? What will you do now that you're cursed with a mortal life, drawn permanently into this gods-forsaken physical plane?"

Dark's lips pursed into a thin line, and it was obvious this wasn't the first time he'd considered this question. "…Cope. I'm good at dealing without getting my way. Unlike some of us."

Shaking his head, Krad pondered aloud, "Why do you always accept things so passively?"

Dark shrugged, "Why do you always fight tooth-and-claw to get your way?"

"Don't you ever get tired of—of being walked over?" he seethed in response.

"Don't you ever get tired of having that stick up your ass?"

"Would you stop with the damned _Socratic responses_?! _Gods_! You frustrate me so! I'm finished with this conversation." To signify this, he stood abruptly and stomped into the kitchen, intent on taking his anger out on dinner preparations.

"He likes you, you know," Dark called from his seat on the couch, "However you managed it, he's got some thing for you now, so don't go breaking his heart or anything. Kosuke likes him."

"I said I was finished with this conversation!"

"Hey—ooh, what're you making?" Dark only now noticed that Krad was opening and closing cabinets, pulling out pots and pans, preparing to cook something. "Are you cooking for us?"

"Don't make me laugh," Krad huffed, "It's for Satoshi-sama when he returns."

"Heh…" Dark leered, "Not _if_ he returns? I was kinda surprised you let him outta your sight…with Daisuke no less! And I didn't know you cooked."

Suppressing a shudder, he retorted coldly, "I could say the same for you—but oh, my mistake, that Niwa boy's already taken. By a _girl_. How charming. And of course I cook; I'm not some heathen Niwa."

Dark frowned, but showed no other outward sign that the comment had hit home, and instead pushed himself up and wandered across the living room towards the hallway. "So what's back here? Bedroom? Hnn…"

Krad looked up from the pot of water he'd just set on the stove to boil in time to see Dark disappear into Satoshi's room. "You—have you no respect for privacy?! Get out of there this instant—_Dark_!" Confident the water could get along fine without his observation, he darted after the thief, fuming.

"I only see one bed…" Dark commented slyly.

"Then you must have missed the couch," came the reply from the doorway as Krad caught up.

Dark turned, hands on his hips, "You might start off on that couch, but you'll get over this hang-up of yours eventually. I'll bet all the treasures in Emiko's basement you're in here with him by the end of the week."

"Point the first: all those treasures are Hikari property in the first place, and point the second: it's not as if you'll ever find out if you're right or not, will you? Now kindly remove yourself from Satoshi-sama's chambers, you're tracking dirt in."

"Why the hell do you speak about him so highly anyway?" Dark grumbled, shuffling out and being sure to deposit more of the dirt Krad was bemoaning on the floor as he did so. "Always 'Satoshi-sama' this and 'Satoshi-sama' that; just call him 'creepy boy' like me and be done with it."

"It wouldn't have killed you to show your own Tamer a bit of respect, you know," Krad returned, heading back into the kitchen after closing the bedroom door soundly behind him, "He's not to be your friend, he's your master, the one you serve, your clan incarnate. I really don't understand how even you could be so lax about such a matter."

Dark paused a moment, blinking in disbelief, then spoke, "Stick. Ass. Do I need to repeat how those two objects relate to you?"

"Perhaps if you had shown the Niwa child a bit more reverence he would have considered your feelings more carefully rather than flaunting his choice of partners right under your nose," the blond observed lightly.

"And maybe," Dark growled in response, resuming his seat on the couch, "if you'd treated your Tamer a little more like a human he wouldn't have hated you enough to tell you to go to Hell and Seal yourself."

There was a crash as a dish shattered on the floor. "You…are an _absolute bastard_."

"Yeah, well I love you, too."

* * *

If one had suggested that it might be a little awkward for the two boys to wander off alone, their relationship being situated still in the tender territory it was, they couldn't have been more wrong. 

It was _terribly_ awkward.

But while Niwa Daisuke, when faced with an awkward situation, was doing his best by simply blushing and stammering his way in the opposite direction, Satoshi instead chose to grit his teeth and dive straight to the point up for discussion. "So? You have questions, I presume."

"Ah…yeah. That was why we came to find you, I guess…" The pair were headed in the direction of a small urban park a few blocks from the apartment complex—a fair enough distance that they could be granted a good while to talk, and they wouldn't have to worry about many others being around to hear them. "I suppose the first question would be—what exactly happened?" Daisuke frowned, obviously readdressing the problem now. "I mean…you said not to ask any questions until we had time to be alone, so…what?"

Satoshi sighed, but not too heavily, for he was no longer troubled in the way he had been not so very long ago, and Daisuke was quick to note this, his curiosity rising. "I suppose…I'll just have to tell everything. Do you know anything about Sealing spells?"

The curiosity shifted to more confused. "Sealing? Like, exorcisms, pulling out demons and confining them to prisons, that sort of thing?"

Satoshi shook his head. "No, not…not exactly. I'm talking about…spells specifically to do with our curses. Spells…to Seal away Dark and Krad—"

"You tried to Seal away Dark?!" The response was shrill and swift, as was to be expected from the son of Niwa Emiko, and Satoshi stopped walking as Niwa rounded on him, face reflecting the anger and confusion no doubt wracking him now. "You—you—of all the—"

"Calm _down_, Niwa. I did not try to Seal Dark." At this Daisuke actually did calm a little, the anger fading away as he awaited a satisfactory delivery of details. "And I didn't try to Seal Krad, either, if that was going to be your next accusation."

Daisuke pouted a bit at how well the other boy was able to predict his thoughts. "…Well then? What does this spell have to do with us being separated?"

"The spell itself actually should have nothing to do with it. To put it bluntly—Krad stole permission from me, his Tamer, to perform a Seal on himself. He…" Satoshi's nervous habit of biting his lower lip during intense thought reared its ugly head. "He tricked me into allowing him to perform a ceremony that would Seal him—and Dark as well, though that would have merely been a side effect of the curses' link. Unfortunately, or fortunately as you may choose to see it, something went wrong, and instead of the energy being used to bind them both deeper into the Astral, it instead pushed them forward to the physical plane. The results are as you saw."

Daisuke's mouth opened and closed a few times as his brain struggled to process the information. "You…he…this is…very big."

"Indeed."

"So, I…what do we do now…?"

A dry laugh. "I couldn't really care less what you and your Dark do, personally. Go home, get married, have little red-headed kaitou babies together and give your mother something to really work herself into a tizzy about—I don't care." Daisuke looked about ready to have a heart attack, and if Satoshi had had less self control he might have chuckled at the look on his face. "Live, Niwa. Live, and never worry about my family trying to make yours miserable again." He turned and started walking back to the apartment.

"Hiwatari-kun!" He stopped. "So…does this mean we…can be friends again?"

Again? Niwa said that like they'd ever really been friends in the first place. "Niwa…I don't really know how to answer that."

"Generally a 'yes' or 'no' would suffice."

Satoshi sighed again, this time one more reminiscent of his old ones. "I don't know—"

"What's there to know?! Friendship—it's not rocket science!"

Satoshi found himself wishing it was—then perhaps he might understand it. "There are—variables, now. Everything's different…"

"Yeah—of course it's different. There's no more war—unless…" Daisuke paused, frowning. "Unless…the war isn't going to stop…"

"Dark has no power anymore, and neither does Krad. Half the reason they've been at it this long is because it's so damn hard to kill one another. I doubt they'll be resorting to violence beyond a slap in the face now and then any time soon."

Daisuke studied his face, as if searching for just how sure the other boy was of this. "And…Krad's actually going to agree with that?"

Ah, there it was. The wrench in the works. "Niwa…I know you don't like Krad—and yes, you've got quite valid reasons."

"Thanks, I wasn't sure, _'Tried to kill me on more than one occasion,'_ was going to cut it."

"But…surely you're starting to grasp the gravity of the situation—even you can't be quite that dense." Since when did Hiwatari-kun start sounding like Dark? "Things are…going to be quite different now, I won't lie. And, truthfully, I'm not sure how Krad's going to react now—it's far from something any of us involved in this war ever expected. I can't say Dark won't go stir-crazy and run off to—to live as a hermit on Mount Fuji." The comment elicited the desired quirk of Daisuke's lips as he relaxed more under Satoshi's explanation. "It's only…I want to try. And…fine, if you're up to it…I suppose we can…be on mutually amicable terms."

The redhead broke into a grin. "I guess…if Hiwatari-kun says that this is for the better…I can give it a chance. And I'll make sure Dark does as well."

'_I'm sure you will…'_ Satoshi thought to himself as the two began walking again. Really, that kaitou was in a pitiful state.

Another block and a few minutes of comfortable silence later, they found themselves traipsing down the hall towards the apartment proper.

"Hey, you don't…think they…_did_ anything to one another…do you?"

Satoshi blinked at Daisuke, palm resting on the doorknob, ready to push himself inside and rescue Krad from Dark's company. "…What do you mean?" Certainly he couldn't be implying…

The redhead shrugged, "I mean…I'd rather not have to haul Dark to the hospital after this—Mom would have a fit if I let anything happen to him." He leveled eyes with Satoshi. "You don't think they fought, do you?"

"Oh no," the other boy nearly laughed, stifling a smile as he turned the knob, "I'm quite certain they did."

"Wha—_Hiwatari_-_kun_!"

* * *

They needn't have worried, it turned out, for when they crossed the threshold into the living room after removing their shoes, they were relieved to see Dark sitting slouched down on the couch—alone, and with minimal injuries that they could see. "Where's Krad?" Satoshi asked, trying to suppress the suspicion that rose automatically. 

"Cooking dinner…" Dark mumbled, waving a hand towards the kitchen as if it was the mist distasteful thing to do. "It's not fair—you get a maid to wait on you hand and foot with this messed up Seal, and all I get is a runt to share a room with." He turned his gaze towards Daisuke, "I hope you don't think I'm gonna be cleaning up your messes like blondie here."

"_Hey_!" both boys snapped at the same time, bristling.

"He's _not_ my maid—"

"What makes you think you're sleeping in _my_ room—"

The thief rolled his eyes melodramatically and pushed himself up from the couch, one hand resting on a hip as he sized up the boys before him. "He's cooking you dinner—"

"I'm sure it's for all of us, _Dark_—really, why must you—"

"Because it's Krad and I'm Dark and we hate each other's guts and have done so happily for over three centuries and—and—" He paused to take a breath before spilling, "—why does it have to change now and get so damn—_domestic_?!"

Emotion washed from Satoshi's face, and Daisuke stepped forward hesitantly, confusion evident in his expression. Dark immediately bit his tongue and lowered his eyes. "Dark, you…what's wrong? I thought you were happy…"

"I _am_…" he sighed, tone hardly convincing anyone, "I…really…don't misunderstand me—"

"Then say what's wrong!" Daisuke snapped, growing weary of this rigmarole. Dark certainly wasn't acting like himself—though he'd seemed pleased enough with the turn of events that had brought them thus earlier. Had something happened while he was gone with Hiwatari-kun? Had Krad said something to upset him? "What…tell me…"

Dark gave him a look that clearly implied that now was not the place the thief was looking to have this conversation. While Daisuke ignored it stubbornly, Satoshi turned and started towards the kitchen. "Wait—Hiwatari-kun? Where're you going?"

"You're staying for dinner, aren't you two?"

"I…" After shooting a sharp glare at Dark, he verified, "Yeah…if you've got enough food."

"Then I'll go and make sure Krad's prepared enough."

Daisuke silently thanked the other boy for having the tact to slip away before their argument deepened, but quickly turned his attentions back to the man before him. "There, you've got him gone—now what in the world has gotten into you?!" His expression softened as he caught himself, "I'm…I really thought you were happy that you didn't have to be trapped in my body anymore…"

Running long fingers through his hair and picking at stray strands, Dark sighed. "It's…really complicated, Dai…really. I'm just not used to it is all—like I said, three centuries we've hated each other. It's gonna take me a while to get used to…being human."

"But you've always been hu—"

"But I'm not, Daisuke, don't you get it? I'm _not_ human—I've never been human! All this—this touching, breathing, this living, these emotions. Art can't experience those things—and we're, Krad and I, art. Were. Whatever."

"Listen," the boy ground out firmly, shaking a finger at Dark, "I've told you before, and I'll say it again—you're _more_ than that. A lot more! And what do you mean you've never experienced emotion before? You're one of the most human people I know!"

Dark wouldn't—_couldn't_—respond, even though Daisuke willed him to so vehemently, and he slumped back onto the couch, weary from the verbal lashing. "…Thank you, Daisuke, really… It means a lot to me to hear you say that—I…"

"Don't patronize me, Dark—don't tell me everything's all right when it isn't just because I can't tell you're lying now. You owe me more than that."

Dark's glance was sharp, sizing the boy up. Owed him? Dark _owed_ him anything? Daisuke faltered a moment under the heavy gaze, but held his ground, brows furrowed in stubborn refusal to yield to the thief's tricks—he wasn't going to be thrown or routed this time. He wasn't going to be laughed at or brushed off. "Well?"

"Just…don't expect me to be getting buddy-buddy with him any time soon, all right? I…it really is a matter of my getting used to this. You don't understand." He shook his head. "You don't understand—three centuries we've been trying to kill each other. We're not you and Hiwatari, Daisuke. We're us, I don't want to be here, and I don't plan on coming back any time soon." He stood again. "I'll stay here for dinner this one time, but please don't bring me back here again after this, all right? Not 'til I've settled down and had some time to sort out my thoughts."

Daisuke pursed his lips, brows still furrowed, then heaved a great sigh. "Fine…but don't try brushing anything like this off again—got it?" Dark nodded dutifully, rolling his eyes. "I'm serious—if you've got something to say, just say it to me. You don't have to pretend like nothing's wrong, because you might not be a physical part of me anymore, but that doesn't mean we're not still connected. Ne?"

"Yeah yeah…let's just hurry up and eat so we can get the hell outta here."


	3. Track 03: The Relationship Less Traveled

_Author's Note:_ Back again after a loooong hiatus! I recently moved to Japan, and brought with me a new laptop. Unfortunately that meant I had a ton of programs to reinstall, and one of them was Word. But—everything's fine now, so hopefully I can get this thing done some time this century! This remix will consist of broken scenes strung together chronologically with little segues between, them—so my apologies in advance. I will at least be describing the new scene changes, however, so as to cause minimal confusion. Thanks!

* * *

**Galatea: Remix  
**_Track 03 – The Relationship Less Traveled _

"When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take -- choose the bolder."

_Joseph William Slim_

* * *

Dinner that evening was quite possibly the most awkward affair any present had ever taken part in. Four pairs of eyes continued to jump from one face to another as Krad loaded the table with the small feast he'd managed to cook up in between taking jabs at Dark.

When the table was finally set and everything in place, the group murmured a quick i_tadakimasu_, and dinner began in earnest. Loading his plate down with salad from the communal bowl, Daisuke carefully took his chopsticks in hand and brought a seemingly innocent leaf to his mouth.

"Wait—Daisuke, _NO!_"

The boy stopped in mid-bite, lips not even fully closed around the lettuce. "Mwafah hah?" Krad shuddered at the display as Dark reached beside him and pulled the food right out of Daisuke's mouth, shaking a finger at him.

"I can't believe you're just digging in like it's no big deal! Didn't you learn _anything_ from Emiko?"

"Dark—" Daisuke laughed nervously, "…It's _salad_…not poison."

Dark narrowed his eyes, "And you're sure about that?"

There was a scraping sound, and a _bang_ on the table as Satoshi pushed himself up, "How _dare_ you, Dark Mousey! To imply that your host—_even Krad_—would sink so low is, even for a Niwa, the rudest—"

"Hey—no such thing as being rude when it comes to life and death, Commander! Besides—" He gave a derisive snort, "—just because _you're_ all lovey-dovey with blondie here now doesn't mean I don't still have to watch Daisuke's back around him."

Under his breath, and missed by the two boys, Krad muttered just loud enough for Dark to catch, "Is that really his _back_ you watch, I wonder?"

Dark shot him a look that clearly said saying anything else would _not_ be a good idea in present company, and for once Krad chose to leave it at that. Besides, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future to ruin Dark's relationship with his Tamer—well, _former_ Tamer—why spoil all the fun so early in the game?

"_Dark_," Daisuke called warningly, motioning at the thief to sit back down, as he too had left his chair, raring for a fight. "You're gonna have to get used to this sooner or later…just sit down and eat. I promise you can kick his butt if he kills me, I won't haunt you or anything."

This apparently came as little consolation, but Dark sat down again regardless, choosing to illustrate his distaste with the situation through abstaining from eating altogether.

Eventually accepting that change wasn't going to occur so quickly, Daisuke finished his meal and excused the two of them, managing to offer some mild thanks for dinner, no matter how strange it felt saying something like that to the very being who'd tried to kill him on more than one occasion.

Feeling little better leaving than they did coming to the apartment, the Niwas returned home, leaving Satoshi and Krad to their own devices.

* * *

Satoshi stepped back inside after seeing Dark and Daisuke safely down the hall to the elevators, all parties offering stiff farewells as they continued to adjust to the idea that they weren't really enemies anymore. He peeked around the corner of the genkan for Krad, expecting him to be cleaning up in the kitchen, but instead found him sitting alone on the couch, staring at nothing.

"I…I have a question I feel I must ask."

Satoshi didn't reply, eyeing the blond apprehensively, and slipped over onto the couch, taking a seat just far enough away from Krad that they weren't touching.

"…Do you hate me still?"

The boy's eyes widened in barely concealed shock. "Of—of course not! How could you think—after everything that happened, with the Sealing and what we talked about afterwards and the—the—ki-ki—ki—" He cut himself off, running a hand through his hair in frustration with himself for getting so worked up over a simple thing like a kiss. He cast a flustered eye to Krad, but the blond wasn't smiling as he usually would at getting his host so riled up. "…What's wrong?"

"…I'm…so sorry, Satoshi-sama—"

"_Satoshi_," he ground out, "I told you to stop calling me that."

"I—forgive me…force of habit…"

"And stop talking to me like I'm better than you!" Krad finally looked up at him, confusion marring his features. "Just—you don't have to be so proper like that," the boy pleaded, "I'm not some conceited master of yours."

The blond gave a concessive nod. "Then…will you tell me something?" Satoshi straightened up, ready to hear whatever was asked. "…What are you…to me now? I'm…confused. To say the least, I'd never calculated such a scenario as this…arising between the two of us. And so, I don't know how to regard you anymore. You won't let me continue as I did before, and yet—"

His questions fell short in the wake of having another pair of lips cover his own. Enough pressure to assure the blond that the boy was very much an active participant, was very much _there_, and then he pulled back, eyes half-lidded.

"Whatever that was," he answered softly, "—that's what we are now. I don't serve you, and you don't serve me—or anyone, not any Hikari, not any Niwa. It's _over_, Krad. No more clan wars, no more artpieces to protect. It's just…us now. You're you and I'm me, and if it happens that we by chance seem to—to have feelings for one another, then…then that's what we are. And if…you ever get confused again about that matter, just let me know…and I'll repeat it. However many times you need reminding."

Krad blinked a few times, golden eyes still trying to take in the fact that the boy before him professing his intent to impress his ultimatum via kiss as many times as necessary was the same boy who not twenty-four hours before had willed him into nothingness. "Understood…" He added with a smile, "…Though I confess I've something of a short attention span—you may need to remind me frequently."

Satoshi nodded firmly, a smile twitching along his lips, and scooted closer to Krad so that he could lean into the other man's warmth, completely relaxed.

"About…what I said before…" the blond began again after a moment's silence, and Satoshi was too content where he was to offer more than a faint, "Hm?"

"…I wanted to say…how sorry I was…"

Satoshi took the bait now, sensing that Krad had something on his chest that he'd do best to relieve himself of. "Sorry for what?"

"I…I lied to you, hurt you so much… Just to separate us, even going so far as to Seal—"

He was cut off again by Satoshi lips on his own, brief blinding pressure that spoke volumes. "You needed reminding." Krad's brows knit in confusion at the action—why wouldn't the boy let him finish? "I. Don't. _Care_," he announced with deliberation. "As far as I'm concerned, before this day dawned, my life…was _nothing_. And as such, I see no point in discussing anything that happened then when there are so many more pleasant topics to touch on."

Krad balked still, gaze turning off to the side, and Satoshi dropped his head to rest his forehead in the crook of the blond's neck. "…My hypothetical was true, you know…" His face burned so with embarrassment that he was sure Krad must have felt it branding him as well. "When I asked you, on the way here, would you forgive me if I told you I loved you… It's true, I guess…I do."

Krad's gaze was now flitting about the room, trying to focus on anything but the boy curled into him. "But I—even so, _I_ was the one who should have been seeking forgiveness—"

"You saved me!" Satoshi now cried, head lifting up and forcing Krad's focus back on him, "When all I wanted to do was curl in on myself and sulk after losing Niwa, you wouldn't let me! You took me and spoke to me and talked with me and—and—and made me _feel_, and you expect me to be _angry_ with you?!" He was tearing up now, and a crack had worked its way into his voice.

"Gods, you're right! I was furious, I told you so myself! I hated you like I'd never hated you before when you told me that lie! Because before—before I'd never had any sort of concept of your true nature; you'd always been the same, just _you_. I'd never thought before that you could draw me in like you had, made me think that maybe, just maybe, you weren't so bad, that maybe you were good—were _more_ than good, that you'd changed just for me. So at that point, yes—I hated you _so_ much, Krad…so much I wished you would die…"

His face was an ugly frown, eyes puffy with unshed tears, and he wrapped his arms around the blond's neck and pulled him close, relishing the sensation of their bodies coming together as Tamer's and Tamed's never had before. "But you _didn't_—and for that I love you ever so much more than I hated you at that moment. I love you…for letting me hate you, and then for making me not. For showing me that anyone can change…change so much that I would come to care for them…for _you_…more than anything else in the world, enough to forget everything about you save for the fact that you changed for me, because _you_ _loved me_…"

He pressed a kiss to the temple, letting his breath fall soft over Krad's ear. "I don't care about before anymore… I care about _now_…about _us_…"

Krad was completely broken, completely at Satoshi's whim now. He could press the matter no further. "…Tell me more about…this new _us_…" Satoshi pulled back, resting his forehead now against the blond's. "Let's talk about now, then…ne? What shall we do _now_…?"

"I'm sure we'll find something to occupy our time with…" Satoshi assured him demurely, then added warily, "You _are_ staying with me…right?"

Planting a kiss squarely on his cheek, Krad gave in at last, "I suppose I'll have to—I don't think I made any friends in the Niwa household this afternoon. Though I can't for the life of me figure out just why you'd want to keep someone like me around."

"Well I will need someone to keep me properly fed, after all. And you having your own body makes that a lot easier than having to transform three times a day."

Krad gave a nod, waiting for the boy to continue. When nothing else came, he protested, "Wha—that's all?"

"Pretty much. That, and, well, you are kind of nice looking. I'm pretty used to you."

"I suppose I am at that—how generous of you."

The boy settled back against him, threading their fingers together, and began stroking the skin across the back of one hand most enticingly. "Ne…why would _you_ stay with _me_?" It was apparent from the tone that this wasn't a question to be laughed off as his own had just been. "…I always thought…you wanted a body of your own. What's the use in finally getting one…if you're stuck in the same place as you were before…?"

"Did you never consider…" Krad responded hesitantly, "…that _you_ were the very reason I wanted a body of my own?" The hands stilled their ministrations. "You may be convinced upon learning this that my intentions before were far from honorable…and perhaps you'd be right. But always, _always_…I wanted to stay with you."

"But _why_?" the boy hissed in confusion. "Why would you…with me…?" He shook his head in frustration, "I never understood you…I'm just a…_child_…"

"I was your curse, Satoshi. Your Tamed. I seldom saw your physical form, you know, unless I projected, but I was forever surrounded and held captive by your soul. _That_ was what I saw. _That_ was what fascinated me about you—for the soul has no age, no Hikari features, no Niwa personality. Such a complex, intricate maze of emotions…I would have had to have no heart…not to fall in love with you. At first…I wanted to possess you completely, to be able to call that soul my own and to see it shared with no others. I didn't care how it came into my grasp—willingly, unwillingly—I simply wanted your all." A wry smile. "Then I changed. Wanted to earn you, to render myself worthy of that soul of yours, to better what you saw of me. I won't…say that your physical form meant nothing to me…"

He turned his eyes away now, aware that Satoshi had always been sensitive about retaining as much modesty as possible given that he was never alone. "…But you were never a child, not to me. You were ageless—_are_ ageless. This skin—" He brushed a finger down the boy's forearm, raising goosebumps, "—is simply a container. A particularly aesthetically pleasing container, I assure you, but it pales in comparison to that which captivated me first, Satoshi…"

The boy pulled back, frowning, "That's not fair…"

"What isn't?"

"You have such a deep reason…and all I have is wanting a meal ticket and…and your body…" If he flushed any more often, the red was bound to become a permanent part of his skin tone.

"Ah—well you'll hear no complaints from me."

"Still!" he protested, "It feels…so mundane. And dirty."

"Do you love me, Satoshi?"

"Eh? I…yeah…"

"Then that is enough for now."

* * *

Satoshi dared a glance up to the clock on the wall; try as he might to forget about the time passing, it indeed had, and it was getting late. He pushed himself up off the couch, then pulled a puzzled Krad up with him towards the bedroom. "Come on, you'll need something besides that to sleep in." He gestured pointedly to Krad's astral wear.

He motioned for the blond to take a seat on the edge of the bed before wandering back over to a chest of drawers, rifling through pajama bottoms and undershirts until he found some light linens that were a bit big on him, hoping they'd fit Krad better. After tossing them over to Krad, he pulled out another set for himself, then began to pull off his shirt.

"I—sorry—" There was a creak from the bed, and before Satoshi could turn around to see what exactly the blond was apologizing for, Krad was halfway to the door, the nightclothes he'd just been issued in hand.

"W—wait!" Satoshi protested, and Krad paused, eyeing the boy warily. He knew full well Satoshi didn't appreciate being watched all the time, least of all when he was changing clothes, and had intended to take his leave right then. Satoshi had a shirt clutched to his chest, a flush painting his cheeks as he made every effort not to meet Krad's questioning gaze. "You don't…you don't have to leave…if you don't want to… I—I don't mind, really…"

"But—you don't like being watched—"

"You don't have to leave…" Satoshi repeated firmly, forcing his gaze up to impress his meaning, "…if you don't want to." Krad must have gotten the hint, for he wandered back over to the bed now, still discreetly looking the other way as the boy hastily changed into sleep bottoms. Well, some things still hadn't changed, at least.

"You can change here, if you want, or the bathroom's right outside…" The boy's words belied a fragile unease, neither quite sure what was acceptable and what was "too soon." Krad didn't quite trust himself, to be truthful, though, and so he moved to slip into the bathroom and sort out these clothes in private.

"It's different but it's not…" Krad stopped, head turning in response to the boy's whisper. "You and me…we're separate but…it's still so much like before…"

"…Would you rather it not be?" An almost-imperceptible nod—that had been the whole point, hadn't it? A new beginning, a new relationship forged. "Tell me how, then…tell me what to do. I don't…I've never…"

"Me neither. I just…never thought about what to do…I never considered…" He couldn't suppress a soft chuckle. "This is the last place…I ever thought I'd be…" _Here. With you. Together. So desperately in love that it scares me how much I was capable of hating you._

Krad's gaze dropped to the floor, almost pious. "…I don't know how to treat you… You told me what to think of you…of _us_ as, but…" _So fragile, so beautiful—I'll break you_… He swallowed a lump that kept cropping up and stopping him from speaking. "You'll tell me, right? If I go too far or…or if I should do something not—"

"You won't."

"Not _knowingly_, but you don't…know what _I_ know…" He stepped closer, voice growing breathier, softer. "What I could do to you…" He lifted a hand to Satoshi's face, bringing it close as if to brush a hair away, then made a fist and pursed his lips, letting it fall away again. With a shake of his head he turned on his heel for the bathroom again.

"You know…you can…you can touch now." Krad paused, cursing the boy silently for holding such sway over him and being so damn tempting. "You don't…have to just look anymore."

The pajamas slipped to the floor with a soft _poof_, landing in a heap at his feet. The boy was blushing to the tips of his ears, eyes focused on the floor as if the secret to life was inscribed therein. "It's stupid to have a body…and not use it… Especially if I…if I don't mind, like I just said I didn't. So you…if you want to—to touch—" But Krad's fingertips were already trailing over his cheek.

It was heaven, this sensation. Krad would never tire of it—the soft roughness of skin upon skin, feeling the bone just below the surface as he ran a finger along that high cheekbone, so warm, so giving, smooth and solid like ice, like a Hikari, those features ingrained in memory forever, manhood just delayed.

Those deep blue eyes slid shut almost as if the touch pained him, yet it wasn't discomfort that flitted across the boy's features—not by far. He leaned into the touch, lips parting to release a sigh and a barely repressed faint moan.

So vulnerable, so trusting, so unlike the Satoshi he'd known for nearly fifteen years. But then, more than simply Satoshi himself had changed in the last twenty-four hours.

He leaned forward, studying the boy's features diligently. After a moment's hesitation he covered the still-parted lips with his own, lingering only long enough to rouse Satoshi back to awareness, watching amusedly as the eyes fluttered back open, then pulled away.

"Payback, for this afternoon." Profiting from Satoshi's shock, he reached back down to collect the clothing he'd dropped.

"…This afternoon's was longer."

Krad stilled, forgetting the shirt he'd reached for, and pulled back up, gauging the boy. His head held high, there was no wavering to his speech, and his gaze spoke something of a challenge. The blond had _never_ backed down from a challenge; it was something of an Achilles' heel of his.

"You'll stop me…right?" Krad reached forward, tilting Satoshi's chin up just so. "If I should do anything…?"

Satoshi would have laughed to see Krad brought thus—treading on eggshells of propriety, scared to move an inch lest he offend the boy in any way. The same Krad who'd so often murmured in his ear phrases just shy of lewd, who'd kept watch with a critical eye every time he'd changed clothes or taken a shower.

He would have laughed. Instead, he simply closed the distance separating them. Their lips met less hesitantly than before, but still so gentle and questioning, warm breath passing through partially open lips bearing pleas of, "Are you sure?" and "Tell me to stop…"

"Shut your eyes," someone whispered, and they both complied, an orchestral surge of color playing just behind the eyelids as they lost themselves in the sensations of such contact they couldn't have imagined before. Krad pushed forward a bit, or perhaps Satoshi yielded, lips parting to let a daring tongue dart in and catch the flavor contained therein. Sharp, refreshing, heady—like a dash of ice-water. So Hikari.

When Krad's hands wandered boldly down around the boy's stomach, darting under the nightshirt and up his sides in tracks, he was pleased to meet a puff of air that belied a moan, breaking the kiss to catch something that sounded like, "—didn't do _that_ this afternoon…"

The blond smiled, quite pleased with himself, and pushed forward again, savoring the stimulating friction from contact between their lips and continuing to delve. "You can get payback later…" His hands trailed back into safer territory, settling at last near the neck and using the leverage to pull them closer, fingers playing in the strands feathering his nape. Satoshi had gotten a bit bolder in his explorations, deciding the whole idea of what Krad's kiss reminded him of—Niwa or Hikari—merited a bit more study, with his own tongue as pioneer.

"Satoshi-sama…" Krad breathed, turning his mouth away to kiss the corner of the boy's throbbing lips, "Gods…what have I done that could possibly deserve this…?"

He could hear the smile in Satoshi's voice, even if he couldn't see it, as he felt lazy kisses trail agonizingly slowly down his jaw to his neck, "I certainly hope you meant that in a good sense…"

"Oh yes…most assuredly in a good sense…I—ah!" Satoshi pulled away, worried, for a moment, then quickly deduced that it hadn't been a cry of pain he'd heard, and was about to plunge back in to take advantage of the little point he'd discovered just beneath the blond's chin, when Krad stopped him. "Ah ah ah…I think that was payment enough. I believe I've collected what's due me so far."

Satoshi was obviously quite put out about this. "…Are you _always_ going to keep score like that?" Their relationship was stacking up to read like an accountant's book.

Krad smiled coyly, picking up the clothes and heading towards the bathroom, still working on regaining his wits about him. "Only until we work out some other method of payment."

* * *

Satoshi was, without a doubt, a master negotiator, especially with respect to matters dealing with his former police work. But he had never been a very effective arguer when it came to matters of refuting the obvious.

"I'm not—" An unmistakable yawn interrupted his protest, and his eyes drooped lower as he fought off the impending wave of exhaustion that was threatening to engulf him like a shipwrecked sailor lost at sea, "—not tired, _really_."

"Now _there's_ an effective argument if ever I heard one," Krad chortled, running long fingers through the thin blue hair that covered the crown of the head currently relaxing against his chest, rising and falling in rhythm to his slow breaths. "You're about ready to drop off right here—come on, I'll bring you to your room." Satoshi, though, protested this proposition by clinging more tightly to the body that was trying to rise. With a knowing frown, Krad continued, "You're going to try and tell me that you're not completely worn out from—well, _everything_ that's happened today?"

The blue eyes refused to turn upwards, with their owner still clinging to the elder man's torso beneath him. No, it wasn't that he was simply being a child and running along the line that he wasn't ready to go to sleep, nor was it that he wasn't tired—truthfully he _was_ exhausted, and going to bed sounded like a wonderful idea, melodious as any symphonic masterpiece.

But it was…the fact that for the first time in his life…he would truly be completely alone in that bed, with no one beside him, and no one _in_side him. Simply himself and that dark empty room—a room he now found himself regretting he'd so sparsely decorated.

His arguments, though—or rather, his silent protests—appeared to have no effect against the blonde, who easily freed himself from the Hikari boy's embrace, slipping out to stand up straight. But it was a mere moment later that Satoshi found himself being scooped up like a child in the same arms which had so recently disentangled themselves from around his own body.

"Since you seem intent on being contrary to the end, this seems to be the most efficient method to get you to rest." The boy blushed brighter than Niwa Daisuke's hair, but did not protest the move, and instead he relaxed onto the position, draping his arms across Krad's shoulders for a more comfortable position, earning a soft smile.

One shoulder-push through the door later, and Satoshi reluctantly found himself in his own room, being slowly lowered onto the soft mattress as Krad ducked out of his embrace. "You will go to sleep, won't you?" the golden voice questioned warily, like a parent regarding his child, and Satoshi allowed himself to have the coverlet drawn over him as he slid down lower, relaxing against the pillows behind him, "_I_ won't be able to sleep if you can't, you know."

A hesitant pouty nod. "Where are you going to—"

"The couch is fine—I've done well enough without a proper bed for three centuries, I see no reason to change it now." Satoshi sat up a bit as if he wanted to protest, "Ah, ah ah—_you_ are here, _I_ am on the couch. Understand?" A frown was his only answer. He knew, though, that the boy wasn't angry at him in any way, and offered a wry smile in return, leaning forward to grace the pale forehead with a light kiss, "Good night, Satoshi. Until morning."

With that, he eased up off the bed and turned to leave the room—but only got a step away from the bed before a tugging on his sleeve let him know that it was _not_ alright for him to leave yet. Suppressing a sigh, he turned his upper torso to see that Satoshi could not meet his eyes, instead diverting his gaze to the wood paneling on the floor, which was apparently very interesting to him at the moment. "…Satoshi?"

"Do you…have to leave me…?" The eyes found the courage to lift up and clash with Krad's own amber ones, desperately seeking acknowledgement.

"Satoshi," he breathed, squatting down until he was at eye level, and removing the hand which had snagged his robe, cradling it in his own palm, "I'm just sleeping in your den—I'm not leaving you—"

"No—I just…I don't want to be alone…"

"You're not going to be alone, you know." He smoothed away a few locks of blue that were falling into the boy's eyes, "I'm only right down the hall—if you need anything—"

Satoshi shook his head fervently, pursing his lips, "That's not it—I don't…it's just…I'm alone…" He pulled his hand back and brought it, trembling, up to feel his temple, treating his own skin as if it was some scalding surface he was hesitant to touch. "Alone…in here…"

Yes, that was it—that's what he was afraid of. That little pressure that had always been there, that essence of Krad, occupying space, constantly _there_. The reassuring presence that never left, never moved—was gone. No, rather, it was just standing here before him now, human as himself.

Either way, he was convinced that he wanted to have that existence always near him—whether it was within or without. And if one was no longer an option, he would simply defer to the other.

Krad's eyebrows knit together as he addressed the turmoil inside his own mind. Half of him wanted desperately to stay there with Satoshi all night, just holding him, making up for all the time—minutes, hours, days, years—that he could only sit back and watch helplessly as his precious host cried out for someone to be there for him, to embrace him. The other, less emotional, more practical half of him knew that it would do the boy some good to finally be free from Krad, if only for a few hours. He as the curse—or former curse—had to bear it and do what was best for the one he cared most about.

He sighed low, and eventually gave in to the practical half. "It's only for a few hours—and you _need_ your rest."

"But—I can rest just fine with you! Much better than I could alone—"

"You've never _slept_ alone, though—how would you know what it feels like?" Satoshi's frown, if possible, deepened, and Krad shook his head, trying desperately to maintain his position on this topic—one which his former host was trying just as desperately to uproot him from. "_One_ night, please? You need…to be alone for one night at least…"

When the blonde's voice took on that more worried than firm-parental tone, Satoshi tensed up, sensing Krad knew something he didn't. "You don't…want to be with me?"

Oh, that was it—that _voice_, that pouting that Satoshi hardly _ever_ indulged in, and the blonde was all but reduced to a sludgy pool of Krad-goo. Struggling valiantly to maintain some semblance of control over himself, and fighting the urge to jump the boy then and there, he managed to press out, "_Far_ from it, Satoshi…you've no idea. But—trust me when I say that just one night apart will do us more good than harm. When we've been one being for so long, we should take chances to truly be apart when they come…see?"

In a roundabout way, the Hikari boy _could_ understand the logic of Krad's argument, and reluctantly nodded, slipping back under the covers and curling into a small ball, eyes sliding shut when the light flicked off, and he heard feet padding away into the darkness towards the living room.

Of course he understood what Krad was saying, but—the thing was, he didn't _care_.

For fourteen years he'd hated his curse. Had screamed out in indignation that it wasn't fair, that he shouldn't have had to bear the burden of the Hikari bloodline, that he never _chose_ to be Krad's host. And for those same fourteen years, not once would he have _ever_ objected to being alone in body and mind.

But then…Krad had to go and _change_ on him. Had to shift from his overly-possessive nature, had to start _caring_, had to do all those things for his Tamer that utterly frustrated Satoshi to no end until…until he found that he was starting to like it. Was starting to enjoy the little attentions Krad paid him having nothing to do with Dark or Niwa. Started to enjoy their infrequent chats regarding relatively mundane matters like cooking or a school assignment on dancing. Started to enjoy…_Krad_.

Satoshi himself had shifted from wanting so badly to be alone to wanting so badly to be with his curse, for as long as Fate allotted. And now, with the two finally separate in mind and body, it was like a dream come true—yet he found that he _still_ wanted to be with the blonde always. Wanted to never be separated from that strange sensation he got when they were near, as if they were two halves of a whole who _fit_.

And sleeping alone…he missed his other half.

Krad thought they needed time apart, needed to cherish this time granted to them when they were finally _separate_—why oh _why_ were his old prayers always answered too late? Right now, being apart was the last thing on the boy's mind. After being one with his curse for all those years, it just felt…_wrong_ to be sleeping here alone.

But…Krad had suggested it, so he grudgingly complied, tossing and turning fitfully, hoping desperately that the blonde hadn't been serious when he'd said, "_I_ can't sleep if _you_ can't sleep." If his counterpart wanted to be alone for the night, Satoshi too would bear it.

…For a while, at least.

That while lasted until some time well past midnight, in the early hours of the morning. Oh, he wanted to go to sleep _so_ badly, but…that little void in the back of his mind _refused_ to let him. Cracking his eyes open wearily, he sighed softly and pulled back the covers. Maybe a drink would help.

He padded softly as he could back into the den area headed for the kitchen, eyes immediately darting over to the couch to see how his guest was faring. Perhaps, he thought, maybe he would find that Krad too was having a hard time sleeping. Satoshi would laugh softly at him and remind him in his "I told you so" voice that they should have just slept together anyway, and they would then fall asleep in each other's arms until some time well past noon…

Well, that's what he was hoping for, at least. So suffice to say he was more than a little disappointed to find the blonde stretched out comfortably, eyes shut in deep slumber. Frowning, he shifted over until he was staring down at the sleeping form, and regarded it silently.

The chest, now clad in a t-shirt Satoshi had provided him the evening before as it was surely more comfortable than his stiff robes, rose and fell in quiet rhythm, and he found himself losing the frown quickly. Behind the shut eyes, he noticed the lids quivering slightly—Krad was _dreaming_. Had he ever dreamt before, Satoshi found himself wondering. If so, _he_'d never seen any of them. It was something to ask about in the morning.

He took a small frightened step backwards, though, when the body on the couch shifted ever-so-slightly, pulling back further into the couch cushions, widening the space free as if making room for another person to join him in his dreams.

Satoshi's hesitation lasted for about another five seconds, before he completely forgot what he'd gotten out of bed for in the first place, and now concentrated his energies on sliding onto his couch beside Krad without waking the blonde and being sent back to his own bed. This proved easier said than done, but after a few close calls—during which his hair tickling the man's nostril's almost sent him into a bought of sneezing—he finally found a suitable position and cuddled close.

When Krad awoke, he would be at first surprised, then a bit miffed, but it would all dissipate into utter bliss when he heard tired lips muffle, "_Love you_…"

Well, the bed was more comfortable than the couch anyways. "You win, Satoshi…"


	4. Track 04: Clearest Confusion

**Galatea: Remix**  
_Track 04 – Clearest Confusion_

"The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is so weak."

_The Bible, Matthew 26:41_

* * *

When Satoshi had finished rinsing off his dishes in the sink after a filling afternoon meal prepared by the being turning out to be his new cook, he headed for the bathroom in the hall, then thought for a moment and turned to his counterpart. "Ne—Krad." A blond head poked out of the kitchen where he'd been putting up his own plate. "You can shower first, if you want—I'm going to fill out these Change of Status forms for the school to hand in tomorrow."

Stepping out of the kitchen area into the living room, Krad queried, "'Change of status'? What are you changing to?"

Thin shoulders shrugged lightly, "I think…I'm going to just stay on and tutor now… For some reason I don't have the same desire to attend classes anymore like I did when I first came on, before the whole thing with you and Dark started. Just seems more like a waste of time now, I've already gotten any enjoyment out of it I can. And I…I think I like helping others more than just going myself." He turned and stepped back into the hallway towards his room.

"Ah—Satoshi!"

"Hn?" He stopped and faced the blond again, who appeared slightly abashed, eyes turned toward the floor as he wrung the dishtowel he'd been holding nervously in front of him, "What is it?"

"I…I don't really…" A pause, and he seemed to gather his strength, "I don't really…know how…to shower."

Satoshi almost did a double-take. "You don't know…how to _shower_?" The blond head shook, "…_Never_? In _three-hundred years_?"

This got him a bit on the defensive, "Well, I never needed to! I'm not subject to things like—like _body odor_ when I'm astral. And I've never been corporeal long enough to need to wash myself!"

Satoshi frowned slightly, "But all the time when you're with your host, _they_ shower. Didn't you learn then? I know you've been awake when _I_'ve showered before—"

Something clicked in his head, though, and the same thought brought out a feral grin in the blond, "Do you really think I ever paid any attention to the _water_ when you were in there?" With that comment, the boy was _inventing_ new shades of red and displaying them proudly on his face.

"I—I…" He felt he had to concede defeat at this point, as any further comments would most likely open his mouth further and let him stick _both_ feet in. "Fine—I'll…I guess I'll show you how to, then…" Were they still in one body, he might have felt the mental leap of joy the blond let out—but since they were separate, he of course didn't. Then again, if they'd still been in one body, he wouldn't be stuck in this embarrassing dilemma in the first place.

Krad tossed the dishtowel back into the kitchen and followed the boy into a room which jutted off of the hallway. He'd been in here numerous times, seen it both from Satoshi's point of view as well as his own while in astral form, so stepping into it was not that big a deal, except for now he actually registered how small it was.

"It's kind of cramped," Satoshi commented, as if reading his former curse's thoughts, "But it's actually bigger than most bathrooms nowadays. If there's one thing I can thank Hiwatari for, it's that he spared no expense in getting me this apartment—even the tub is twice as big as a normal one. I can actually say I have a decent sized bath _and_ shower. And there are few in Japan who can say that."

Settling down onto the side of the tub, he leaned forward and began fiddling with the knobs, letting the hot water run for a minute before turning the cold on as well, then plugged the drain when it reached a suitable temperature. He heard a soft rustling from behind him and turned to see what Krad was—

"KR—_KRAD_?!" Hmm, he was fairly certain his voice hadn't risen that high for a few years now thanks to puberty. He quickly whipped his head back around and stared intently at the rising water, then snatched a bottle of bubble-bath mixture from the other side of the tub and began saturating the water with it. Yes—yes…bubbles were _good_…Lots and lots of bubbles. They covered up…things.

Golden eyes blinked innocently, wondering what the fuss was, as he toed off the boxers he'd been provided with the previous day, now stark naked and wondering what the bath would feel like. Most of his hosts had been exceedingly wealthy, or at the very least quite well off, and a bath was simply a part of their daily regimen. They seemed to look forward to wasting away the minutes or hours soaking in water, and Krad couldn't quite understand what the attraction was. Satoshi was more like him in that respect—a quick shower, that was enough. Get clean, get out, and move on with your life.

"Y-you can—" Satoshi cleared his throat, trying not to be obvious as he struggled to maintain control over his vocal chords, "You can get in now…" To emphasize the point, he reached over to the knobs and turned them off, breathing a sigh of relief that the water had been transformed now into a sea of foamy fluffy bubbles, completely hiding anything below from view.

He pretended to further fiddle with the faucet when he sensed Krad beside him sliding into the bath, but couldn't help whipping his head up and around when he heard a slight yelp. "What?"

"It's—hot…"

A soft smile, and he found it not so embarrassing as long as he focused on Krad's face and not his— "Well what did you expect it to be? It doesn't feel good if it's cold—go on." Krad slowly complied, hesitantly testing the temperature again with his toe, before stepping in fully with one foot, then the other, and finally settling down in a seated position.

Satoshi let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "All right…I guess the first thing we can do is get your hair wet. It's…wow, this might take a while." He eyed the mass of golden locks that dripped like lava in rivulets down the smooth back, winding over the well-muscled flesh before disappearing into the bubbles—

"You're drooling, Satoshi."

"I—I AM _NOT_!" Krad smiled knowingly, having fun riling the boy up. "I was just—trying to think about what to do next, that's all!"

"I can think of a few fun things…" the blond conjectured innocently—well, as innocently as he could, being Krad—and instead earned a smack on the top of the head.

"I was _about_ to get the showerhead down, since you're taking a bath right now. This way you can wash your hair and not worry about the bubbles."

Krad looked down at the foamy whiteness he was surrounded by, "Speaking of which, why _are_ there so many bubbles in here?"

Satoshi blushed. "Don't—worry about that. Now, for the shower—"

"Ah, I'll get it." The blond braced himself against the side of the tub and made as if to stand, but he was quickly pushed back down.

"No—no, you just relax!" Damn, that crack was getting back in his voice! "I'll take care of everything!" Before Krad could protest any further, he'd already reached up and removed the showerhead from its hook, pulling it down so it could be used in the bath. With a turn of the nozzle, a warm spray flowed forth, ready to be used, and he handed it over to the blond. "Here—wet your hair with this. I'm going to get some shampoo." It was evident the little bit _he_ usually used wasn't going to be enough, but luckily he kept a few extra bottles around—he'd have to pick up a larger size next time he went to the store.

He stepped out into the hallway and began rummaging through the medicine cabinet as he heard the spray soften as it drenched Krad's body. Another moment later, and he wandered back in with two new tubes of both shampoo and conditioner tucked in the crook of his arm, and couldn't help but smile at the sight which greeted him.

Krad looked…like a big wet dog. A very unhappy big wet dog—unhappy because he was soaking wet and this bath was _not_ fun, and what in the _world_ did humans find so damn enjoyable about it?! Admittedly, the water did feel good now, loosening his muscles and sending warm shivers up through his torso. But this was nothing like anything his previous hosts had done; they'd always relaxed their whole bodies in the tubs, sometimes for over an hour. None of this half above, half below business. "Satoshi…" he whined pathetically. "Can't I get out yet?"

"Idiot—you haven't even washed your hair." Setting the conditioner over to the side, he popped the cap off of one of the shampoo bottles and poured a liberal amount of the goop into his palms. "Now, hold onto that shower head, 'cause we're going to be using it again in a second, and lean over here so I can put this stuff in." Krad complied dutifully and let his Tamer go to work.

Oh… So _this_ was what the humans liked so much… _This_…wow, Krad could deal with _this_… His amber eyes glazed over and slid shut, relaxing into the heavenly sensation as the Hikari boy's fingers massaged the soapy formula into his scalp, running all over his head and scratching itches he'd never knew he had. It was mesmerizing, these ministrations…

Too soon, though, the fingers pulled away and traveled down the length of his hair, thoroughly saturating even the most remote portions of his mane, and all the while he made sure the blond could repeat this process himself in the future, "Make sure you work it all in; with hair like yours, it wouldn't be good if you started getting split ends or anything like that." A knowing grin, "We might have to shave it all off."

"Sh—_shave it_?!" Krad cried out, and the boy laughed lightly, continuing to work the shampoo into the last of the strands.

"Here, hand me the showerhead." A moment later, and more soapy suds joined those already in the water, with the blond sputtering in protest.

"Ah—you're getting soap—it's in my _eyes_!" No response, "Satoshi, you're—_OW_! That's my _hair_!"

"Yes I know," the boy snapped, "You've got a lot of it, so it's quite difficult to miss—and I wouldn't pull it if you'd stop squirming. And shut your eyes if you don't want soap in them!" Krad made a move to glare, but just got more soap in them when Satoshi sprayed the crown of his head. He was starting to doubt that it was an accident on his Tamer's part.

Next came the conditioner, and Krad was exceedingly glad that this wasn't as soapy as the shampoo, so none of it dripped into his eyes. Then, though, followed the actual washing of the body itself. He stared uncertainly at the white fluffy…_thing_ he was supposed to use, which his Tamer called a "loofa".

"…What kind of a name is _that_? Loofa…It sounds like…well, I'm not quite sure _what_ it sounds like actually…"

Satoshi smiled and snatched the foamy pad from him, "Call it whatever you like then, it's just to help wash with. Here—I'll get your ears and neck since you don't have a mirror, but _you_ can wash the rest of your body." With that he reached over and began sudsing up the crook where shoulder and neck met, working his way up until he passed over one ear, sending a tickling sensation ripping through the blond. Well—it tickled at first, until apparently Satoshi found a speck of dirt stuck to the sensitive cartilage, and began scrubbing harder. "Ow—_ow_! Satoshi—it's clean! It's—_OW_! That's my _ear_! My ear is clean!"

"It's not—there's something right here—or is that a mole? I don't—_ACK_!" Any further inspections were silenced as two strong arms swiftly snaked around the thin waist and pulled him into the by now lukewarm water, positioning him under the straddled form of his curse. "What're you—ah, you're getting these bubbles in my eyes!"

"Turnabout is fair play, you know. Serves you right!" The boy flailed valiantly but futilely, unable to move from his position on his back. "Now see how it was for me?"

"I never jumped you and pushed you into the tub though!" he sputtered pathetically, trying to keep the soapy water from getting into his mouth.

"Who's to say," Krad grinned cat-like, letting his eyes wander freely over the body beneath him, "That that's not what I _wanted_ you to do?" Satoshi's struggling eased up, and even all this time living with Krad's innuendos had not jaded him to their effects, still leaving him to blush. The golden eyes paid no heed and instead drank in every bit of the boy's body.

He was soaked through and through by now, pale blue hair clinging limply to his forehead and temples in little clumps, with droplets of water making his eyelashes stick together noticeably. His shirt, a thin, flimsy button-up cotton one he'd changed into that morning so as not to be wandering around half naked all day (much to protests of other residents of the apartment), had turned all but transparent when submerged in the bathwater. Uptight, prudish Satoshi when dry, now rendered teasing and tantalizing when wet.

Uncertain blue eyes searched his face, trying to discern what exactly the blond's plans were now, and then trying to determine whether or not he would go along with those plans since he had a fairly good idea where Krad planned to take this sudden movement. True to form, a pair of eager lips wasted no time in swiftly descending on Satoshi's own, massaging them with the same care and delicate attention that the boy's own fingers had just paid his scalp.

When he moved over across a flushed cheek to flick his tongue over a sensitive earlobe, it took Satoshi a bit of time to find his voice and squeak out, "Umm, Krad I think—I think we need…to get…to get out…"

Krad still would not stop. "Of those clothes? I agree…"

"Of the _TUB_!" he finished in a huff; as expected, no effect. "The water—the water's getting cold, and you haven't finished w—washing…"

"Mmm…" was all he got in response, and Krad's hands now joined the fray, running like spiders over the smooth cotton shirt, before sliding up underneath to do the same to the skin the shirt was covering, drawing out goosebumps. His hair snaked inside with his hands where it could, feeling impossibly smooth and fluid against the flesh—like wet silk, crawling up inside his collar and down over his chest.

The fingers abandoned their posts underneath the shirt to now reach up and address the buttons barring them from full exposure to Satoshi's torso. No no…they absolutely had to go, and Krad would make sure that they did. Plip—one gone, plip—another, plip—and another. While his hands attended to the few remaining ones, his lips trekked downwards, tracing a line of angel-kisses across the sensitive flesh of Satoshi's neck, and on down to his collarbone. His senses were flooded with smells from the bath—the soapy floral scent of the shampoo, the bubble-bath, even the water itself seemed to possess an inherent smell now, a combination of the shampoo, conditioner, and soap.

But all he was focused on now was _taste_—he could _taste_ his Satoshi, could taste the soapy water in the skin, could taste that floral essence, could even faintly detect the salty sweat that was sheening over his body in response to Krad's actions. And he wanted to taste…_more_.

The last of the buttons fell away, exposing Satoshi's chest fully to the open air, which now felt a little chilly since he was soaking in lukewarm bath water. Ah, the better to ravish now. But his hands—they had nothing to do now! Well, may as well keep going…

It was quite evident what the boy's _body_ wanted the blond to do next—and since his mouth was only releasing the quiet gasp every now and then, not protesting in the least, he assumed that it would be fine to continue on. With deft fingers, he took hold of the zipper on the black slacks which were now hugging the boy's waist more tightly than when he'd first been pulled into the tub, sliding it down ever-so-slowly to gain access.

But with Krad's attentions focused on Satoshi's lower half, he completely missed it when the blue eyes shot open at full attention, worry streaking through them and completely dispelling any cloudiness brought about by the situation. Krad did _not_ miss it, though, when he was about to snake a hand into the halfway open pants, only to find himself shoved backwards violently, upsetting him from his post straddling his Tamer.

He had not a moment to protest or question the action, though, before Satoshi scrambled out of the tub, turned his back on Krad and shot out the door, into his own room.

Golden eyes blinked once, twice, three times, brows knitting together in confusion.

"What…was that about?"

* * *

A few more silent minutes passed as Krad collected himself, trying to take stock of just _what_ had happened. He was kneeling, nude, in the bathwater that was rapidly turning chilly, still confounded by what had just passed between himself and Satoshi.

Racking his mind frantically, he went over the events again—he'd pulled Satoshi into the bath with him, a bit of kissing, a bit of touching, no problems, Krad had moved to divest the boy of all these garments blocking them from touch—

"…_Damn_." What a grand fool he was. He hung his head low and pushed himself up, carefully stepping out of the tub to dry off. How could he have been so blind, so caught up in the moment to let his actions run away with him? Had he not barely twelve hours before urged the boy to watch out for him, to stop him from going too far?

He eyed the pajamas Satoshi had set out for him morosely, toweling himself off before slipping into them and bemoaning his soaked mane. He'd have to let it dry the human way now.

However, his hair was the least of his problems right now. He hung up the towel again and poked his head out—no one in the living room or kitchen. Assuming Satoshi hadn't fled the apartment, that meant he was moping in the bedroom, and probably didn't want to speak to Krad anymore.

"…Satoshi?" he tested cagily, eyeing the form situated huddled on the floor at the foot of the bed with worry. "…Are you all right…?"

"…I'm fine…sorry…" The voice was low and rough, muffled by the fact that he had his knees drawn up to his chin and had buried his face in them. "I didn't…it's all right now…" He looked up finally, face pale. "You didn't do anything wrong, it was…it's all right," he repeated.

Krad dared a step in, shutting the door softly behind himself, and knelt down to Satoshi's level. "I told you to _stop me_…" he breathed wearily, though the reprimand was lost somewhere between his thinking and speaking. "I never…_never_…"

"It's my own fault," Satoshi corrected staunchly, pushing himself up. "Too much modesty, I can barely even change in front of someone else—it's not _right_. Not now." His shirt still had the first three buttons undone, and he reached now for the fourth one to continue it, with Krad looking on in some confused muddle of horror and uncertainty. "I said I was all right," he reassured the blond, though it sounded more like it was to reassure himself, and his fingers were on the last button. "We can keep go—"

"No!" Krad snapped his hands out to grip the boy's wrists and pull them away, holding them at his sides. "What are you…?"

"Let me go, Krad," he responded calmly, eyes blank, "or make yourself useful and finish it for me."

"No," the blond repeated firmly, maintaining his grip. "I'm not going to release you until you promise me you'll cease these efforts to denude yourself any further." He frowned, then amended, "Or rather, button yourself back up—you'll catch cold. You're soaked." He pushed himself up now and turned to the closet, jerking the boy along with him for good measure. After rifling through the contents a moment, he pulled out a robe and wrapped Satoshi in it. "Honestly…"

Satoshi's pout was resolute, but at least he wasn't stripping. "First you want to…then you don't… I really wish you'd make up your mind what you want from me."

"I could say the same of you!" Krad snapped a bit too harshly in response, and flinched along with the boy. "Just—_why_? Why do you…let me tread so far? Why do you let me get you where it's so hard to stop…when you don't _want_ it?"

"Because I _do_!" he moaned in response, cradling his head in his hands as he slipped onto the bed in defeat. "Or…I do when it happens… I…I _like_ it—all of it. You…kissing, _touching_…everything. But when…just, when we went that far…"

So innocent, so pure…but far from naïve.

"It's pathetic…we can finally touch each other…and _this_ comes up." He drew his legs up and buried his head. "It was different before…I didn't _like_ you watching me all the time…but I never gave it any thought. Because…because I…hated you. Not letting you watch me was just…a way to get back at you, really, not because I cared… It wasn't…sexual. But before—what happened just now…"

"Satoshi…" The boy looked up, only now realizing that Krad had made his way over and taken a seat beside him. "…What are you doing berating yourself like this?" He shook his head and clucked his tongue in disapproval. "If I felt irritated that you were balking at this…would I have told you to stop me?"

"…I guess not…but still—"

"You…are _beautiful_…" he assured the boy, "…but I don't want your body if I can't have your heart along with it…understand? This…" He let a hand rest on Satoshi's chest. "…Over this." The hand slid down to rest on his hip now.

"…You're gonna regret those words before long…" Satoshi assured him. "You'll get frustrated with me—I don't know when I'll be ready to…to go further. It might be tomorrow…it might be a year from now."

"And apparently you don't realize that for me—just being able to hold your hand is more than I could have ever dreamt possible. You've already granted me plenty; give anything else time. I'll wait; I'm quite good at that, you know. With three centuries behind me…what's another year or two?"

Satoshi allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "I've no idea why you're so patient…you could step onto the street and probably have your pick of lovers, you know." He raised his palm to Krad's cheek, letting it rest against the smooth skin as he stroked. "I wouldn't blame you, really…wanting someone who can…who can give you what you need…"

"Need?" The blond blinked a few times, then chuckled softly. "I'm not the one who's supposed to be a hormonal teenager here—why on earth would I _need_ this? I certainly wouldn't be averse to…going a little wild with you, but—no…it's not a need."

"But you—you've at least had experience with it before—"

"If, by experience, you mean I've _seen_ it, then yes. Not all my hosts were quite as modest or monogamous as you appear to be."

"_No_—I mean, with others…yourself…you've…"

"Satoshi, look at me…" The boy's eyes had drifted away, but snapped back at the command, wary. "No. Never."

"Never—?"

Krad raised his head haughtily, "Never. When one's constantly focused on eliminating a thief like Dark or eradicating the Niwa clan, one has little time for such frivolities. Most of my Tamers were far from virgins…but never I." He brought his forehead forward to rest against Satoshi's. "You…are so many firsts for me, you know. How many times I've said 'I've never…' in the past twenty-four hours alone, I've lost count. I most definitely know…what to do. But I think you would understand well enough that _knowing_ how to do something…and actually doing it…are two quite separate matters."

Satoshi flushed angrily, but what he ground out wasn't really mean-spirited. "Damn synchronization…"

"So no more of this self-berating, correct? There's nothing else I need to know to stay clear of? And you _will_ stop me should it ever come to this again, _right_?"

"Yes, yes…" Satoshi agreed reluctantly, relaxing into Krad's embrace, "…I'm sorry I just…jumped out like that… There was probably an easier way to get you to hold on…"

"I think my 'holding on' was what the problem was mounting up to be," the blond leered, pleased to see the familiar blush creep back onto Satoshi's face. "And I'm sorry I let my senses get away with me. I suppose I'll have to work on controlling myself—it's not really been a problem before seeing as I've not usually been on the physical plane for any longer than an hour or so before. Not usually enough time to…get worked up like that."

"Such is the curse of humanity," Satoshi sighed, "Being controlled by the senses, being tricked by them… Sometimes it's welcome; many times it's not. Sometimes they strengthen you and other times they weaken, but…always they're there, and you can't turn them off." He slipped sideways to where he was lying down on the bed, hair dampening the pillow beneath his head.

Krad did the same, spooning behind him and stroking the strands that were clumped together. "I remember…lying here just like this only a few nights ago…and wishing I could do this." The boy's lids drooped, mesmerized by the attention. "Such a simple act…and I couldn't do it… Couldn't run my fingers through your hair…or trail them down your arm—" he did so, "—or kiss the nape of your neck," and again he did so. "I used to wonder to myself…that if I were given a single moment's flesh…a single chance to share this plane with you…what would I do?"

"…And…?" Softly mumbled, just barely coherent.

Krad stilled his fingers' running and pulled the hand up, threading their fingers together and letting his lips rest feather-light in a soft kiss on the back of the boy's hand, demure as a courtier in some royal palace. "Only that. I was never an imaginative one, you know…"

* * *

Satoshi awoke with a start some time well after dark and shifted his upper body upright, head turning to and fro in a sleepy stupor as he tried to remember where he was—in his bed, that's where he was right now…but this wasn't how he'd fallen asleep, this much he remembered.

As another moment passed he recalled the long, taxing talk he'd had with Krad earlier that evening, after the fiasco-formerly-known-as-Krad's-shower. He remembered crying, he remembered hating himself for being so weak and cowardly, and he distinctly remembered strong arms around him reminding him that he was _none_ of that—and that those same strong arms would be there for him always, regardless of the boy's decision on how far to take their relationship. If they forever simply touched…then that, Krad had said, would have been more than enough to make him happy.

He remembered, also, the blond trying to retreat to the couch again as he'd done the night before, and remembered him finally giving in to Satoshi's pleading—even given the fact that hardly an hour before, the boy had been scared stiff of being touched by his former curse. No, no, Satoshi had assured him—everything was fine now, and he was most _definitely_ not sleeping alone _tonight_, and if Krad tried to stop him, he'd hang on and never let go. He was a former police officer—waiting was part of his job description, and he'd stakeout Krad's body for as long as necessary until he finally gave in. Which he did.

After all, how could anyone resist those pleading blue eyes, at once adorable and intoxicating? It was certainly not a feat Krad was capable of accomplishing, and in a flash he was under the sheets with his Tamer, holding the boy close—or rather, being held close, as it seemed Satoshi was doing all the holding.

Yes, he remembered all that…so that begged the question: Why was he here in his bed…_alone_?

He rubbed the remaining bit of sleep from his eyes, running thin fingers through his hair and tousling it as he tried to think about his situation. Had he, perhaps, woken coincidentally when Krad had risen to get a drink of water or use the bathroom? Straining his ears, he frowned when he was returned simply the silence of his apartment.

Flinging back the coverlet, he let his feet drop to the floor and padded across the hardwood floor into the living room, being careful not to stub his toes on any pieces of furniture—a bout of night-time cursing wasn't conducive to sneaking about and finding Krad.

When he got into the den area, he blinked in the darkness, waiting for anything to come into focus, and warily fumbled with the lamp on the table at the end of the sofa, searching for a light-switch. Eventually running his fingers across it, he flicked it on, and instantly the room was filled with a soft orangey light—and only light. Krad was not on the couch, nor was he anywhere within sight by the lamplight. Instead, Satoshi found something even more disturbing:

His front door was open.

Not very wide, mind you, like a robber had forced his way in—no, it was more like someone had snuck out and had just barely closed it behind them so as to keep quiet.

Satoshi eased it open again and wandered out into the dark hallway, eyes turning right and left as he tried to discern which way his guest might have headed. Left was towards the elevators—he could mark those off immediately, since they didn't run after midnight, and it had been after then that the two had fallen asleep. Any residents wishing to get in or out of the building and up to their floors after that time had to take stairs.

That narrowed down which way Krad had gone—he sprinted down the hall in his house shoes and eased the heavy steel door at the end open with a loud creak. His apartment was on the sixth floor—the top level, save the roof—so the blond _had_ to have gone down, and Satoshi turned a corner to head down the flights, until he noticed moonlight streaming in from an opening above him.

The roof entrance was open as well.

Taking a chance, he took the stairs two at a time, and shuffled out onto the landing, heaving from dashing about so. Immediately, though, he straightened up, when he spotted a welcome form standing over by the far ledge across from him. Chest tightening up in panic, he forced his legs to speed him to Krad's side, choking out, "No! No—Krad! _Don't_—!"

Golden eyes blinked and turned around curiously, widening slightly when they took in the form sprinting towards them. "S—Satoshi!" Launching his lithe form at the blond to keep him from doing whatever it had been he was about to do, thin arms snaked around the waist and held on for dear life.

"No—you hear me? _No_!"

Krad fumbled for words, "'No'—? But, Satoshi, I—"

"I said _no_!" His voice was slightly muffled by the fact that he was burying his face in the fabric of Krad's sleepwear, and he was fairly certain he was starting to tear up again. "I'm _not_ letting you leave!"

Crap…Krad had been found out.

"I don't know what I have to do to make you stay…but _tell me_ and I'll do it! Anything!" he pulled back, and the blue eyes grew more serious, driving home a point, "_Anything_…if that's what will make you stay."

Krad smiled sadly and untwined the arms from around his waist, setting the boy back at a safe distance from him, "That's not the problem, Satoshi…not hardly that…I told you already, remember?"

Confusion spread over the fine Hikari features, "Then—then _why_?! Why would you…resort to…to…_suicide_?!"

Krad's face now reflected the same confusion of his Tamer, "Wait…suicide? Who? When?" He glanced at his surroundings, earning a glare from the boy, "…_Me_?!"

There was no reply, only a harsh continuation, "If you jump off this roof…I'm jumping after you!"

Krad laughed softly at the naïveté—it was quite sweet, though. "Satoshi…if you did that, you'd _die_—"

"_YOU WOULD TOO!_" the voice erupted, broken with a slight sob at the end.

More blinking on Krad's part. "I…wh—what…?"

"You—you were standing on that ledge when I came up! You looked…like you were going to jump."

Pausing, Krad gathered himself and corroborated him, "Well…I _was_. But—," he laughed, "I wasn't committing _suicide_!"

The glare simply hardened, and Satoshi's voice rose a few decibels, "Then how exactly were you planning on surviving a _six-story_ fall?!"

Krad sighed—really, was his Tamer _that_ dim? "Satoshi—_wings_ of course…" How on earth had the boy forgotten _that_? After all, _he'd_ used them himself before!

Satoshi shook his head in disbelief, eyes narrowing now, "Krad…you're _human_. You don't _have_ those wings anymore! You're _not_ Astral—you're like me now!"

…

"_Idiot_…" Satoshi spat when all Krad found the strength to do was open and close his mouth in rapid succession as he fumbled for words—he really _had_ completely forgotten about not being able to use Astral anymore, even _after_ the incident the previous day when he'd tried to summon clothing. "Don't _scare me_ like that!"

Suddenly something twigged inside Krad as his Tamer pulled away and tried to calm down, "But—_why_ would you do something like that? Here I am trying to slip out quietly so I couldn't hurt you anymore, and you would've thrown yourself down with me! Completely defeats the purpose of my leaving in the first place…"

Satoshi's eyes widened twice their normal size, and before he could stop himself or even realize what he was doing, his right palm shot out and slapped the tender flesh of Krad's cheek, shocking the both of them into silence.

Eventually, though, Satoshi was the one to find his voice first and continue on with his tirade. "How _dare_ you still try that—after all I've said!" he hissed in fury, "You've always _always_ been with me—you _can't_ leave now! I—I couldn't take it…if you leave me…then I'll truly be alone…"

Still in a state of shock from being slapped, Krad managed to find his tongue and argue feebly, "But—being alone…might be for the better… For if I weren't here with you, then consequently I wouldn't be here to hurt you either… It would just be…the lesser of two evils. So long as I am here, I can and inevitably _will_ still hurt yo—"

"_I don't care_!" he snapped hastily, "I _don't_! I would bear it, _any_ pain! Just for you to be here!—You think you're hurting me, taking away my _happiness_…when you _are_ that now! And if you leave me again, I swear I'll—I'll never forgive you!" He hardened his glare and clenched his fists into little balls at his sides, "I'd hate you just as much for that as I would for being hurt by you!" And then, the statement that pained Krad most:

"I'd hate you like before!"

There was a tiny gasp, and Satoshi realized it had come from himself, and struggled to add something to soften the statement, not really meaning to have said _that_ much. "I just…no, it wouldn't be like before, I wouldn't hate you that way, I _couldn't_… Only, I'd be so mad and frustrated if you left, it would seem like that…is all…"

At this point Krad wasn't sure what had shocked him more—the earlier physical slap, or this verbal one he'd just received.

Satoshi continued speaking, though by now he'd gotten control of his voice and steadied his tone, coming off much more calm and collected—much more _normal_ Satoshi. "Everything—everything you did…trying to seal yourself, trying to leave me now, all those stupid speeches about us needing to be separated…you did it all saying you wanted to _protect_ me, so that you wouldn't hurt me…"

Then he exploded again in a passionate protest, "What if I don't _want_ to be protected, though? What if I _want_ to hurt sometimes? What if I _want_ you here, with me, so that when I _do_ hurt, it won't feel so bad, because I'm not feeling it alone?!" He bit his lip, "You want to leave because you think it's for the best, but—you're just, just _RUNNING AWAY_! Always so damn selfish!

"You never _once_ thought about _my_ feelings—never thought about how _I_ would feel, how much it would affect _me_ if you left! You always only thought about how much better _you_ would feel, away from me!

"You can't protect me from every pain or hurt I'll come across—you're only human! But you _can_ help me by staying! If you're not here…if you leave…I'll have _no one_. No one! Can you still…_still_ abandon me…when I'm standing here begging you not to…?"

At this point, he literally fell to his knees in place, reaching forward to grab the loose material of the pajama bottoms Krad was clad in, eyes falling to the ground as he leaned against the legs for support, clinging onto them as his back heaved, unable to hold back anymore, "I…please…_please_…don't leave me…_please Krad_…"

And all Krad wanted at this point was to stop the poor child from crying the tears _he_ had made him cry even though he no longer felt them resonating inside him as before. He hastily squatted down to embrace the boy's form and ran thin fingers in comforting ministrations up and down the heaving back, whispering soothing nothings in his ear.

"…I don't…know what to do, Satoshi…" he admitted after a moment, still rubbing the back beneath his hands, "I do want to stay, but there's always something in my mind, something pulling me, saying I shouldn't be here still…I don't…know—"

"Just—for once…for once in your life, Krad…_don't_ do what's ingrained in you…_don't_ follow your fate or whatever the hell you want to call it…do what _you_ want to do…! _Please_!"

When the blond didn't immediately respond with a positive _or_ negative answer, Satoshi plunged into an explanation of all the mundane reasons Krad could not leave, "I—who'll cook for me? Who'll get mad at me when I won't rest even though I'm sick? Who'll dance with me and not get mad when I step on their feet? Who'll keep me company when schoolwork gets too boring? Who'll…" A pause, "…Who'll always be there in my head…even though we're not together…?"

At this, Krad collapsed and clutched the boy even closer, burying his head in the crook where shoulder met neck, "_Me_…_me_…I want it…to be _me_…dear _gods_ I want it to be me…"

There was no way for him to fight it now…Satoshi had won him over, body and soul—no force in heaven or earth could pry him from his Tamer's side at this point, and he noted distantly that this sensation of…_being home_ had washed over his entire being, resonating softly and warmly between himself and the body he was still embracing.

They stayed that way on the rooftop for another few minutes before Krad noticed that Satoshi, exhausted from the ordeal, had slipped back into the land of slumber, and was sleeping soundly in the blond's arms, cradled close for warmth.

Smiling softly, he stood as quietly and slowly as he could and crept down the stairs back into their apartment, padding softly into the bedroom at the rear of the abode. He gently eased the boy down onto his usual side of the mattress, smoothing away a stray lock of hair as he pulled the coverlet back over the form, already shivering slightly at the loss of body contact. Well, that would be remedied soon enough.

Just as he had promised—no, all but _solemnly sworn_, Krad stayed by Satoshi's side that night, and intended to every day after for so long as the boy would have him. He pulled the covers back slowly on the other side of the bed and slid in, head hitting the pillow facing the angelic sleeping-face of his Tamer. His precious Hikari Satoshi…his beloved, who had stated defiantly that he would have died before he'd be separated from the blond.

My how things had changed…

Things _had_ changed, and not just their relationship…Thanks to that boy, he was doing something tonight for the first time in his entire existence.

He reached over, pulled the body closer(which didn't offer much resistance anyway), and slowed his own breathing as he entered a sleep cycle. Doing for the first time what he _wanted _to do—not what he was expected to do, not what he was commanded to do.

What he _wanted_ to do.

And right now, he wanted nothing more than to stay by Satoshi's side. So he did just that.


End file.
